Chapter 57: Black Mountain Fort

At the northern exit of the Forgotten Valley, a fortress stood quietly. The entire fortress was built from black stones, with walls reaching an astonishing height of about forty meters, and its length completely blocked the entire Forgotten Valley.

The fortress was like an iron wall, firmly blocking the Forgotten Valley. To pass through the valley, one had to go through Black Mountain Fort.

However, when you approached Black Mountain Fort, you would find that the fortress was not as formidable as you imagined. In fact, it resembled an old, declining man. The protective walls on top of the fortress had multiple sections damaged, and the entire exterior looked dilapidated, as if it had not been repaired for a long time.

This was indeed the case. The Fansel family originally built this fortress to prevent the monsters from the Rotting Swamp from entering the Fansel Principality through the Forgotten Valley. However, the fortress had been standing for several hundred years, and those monsters had always remained in the Black Earth Wasteland, never coming to the Forgotten Valley. This led to the fortress being gradually forgotten, although there were still some troops stationed there, their main role was to maintain order.

Although there were not many troops stationed at Black Mountain Fort, no one dared to underestimate its combat capabilities. This was because there were a large number of adventurers and mercenaries in Black Mountain Fort, and these people were a force not to be underestimated.

However, the presence of these people also made the law and order in Black Mountain Fort extremely chaotic. The city defense officials had a tough time, as both adventurers and mercenaries were unruly individuals. A slight mishap could lead to them drawing their knives and attacking. Facing such a group of barbarians, the city defense troops, who were not elite, were even more powerless.

Because of this, Black Mountain Fort eventually became a place jointly managed by the city defense troops, several large mercenary groups, and a few major merchants. These large mercenary groups and major merchants each had their own territories, and they coexisted peacefully without infringing on each other.

Of course, in such a situation, the Fansel Principality could not expect to collect any taxes here. Without tax revenue, the principality would not provide funds for the maintenance of the city walls. Thus, Black Mountain Fort gradually became a haven for mercenaries, adventurers, and even fugitives.

This also indirectly reflected the situation in the Black Earth Wasteland. The Black Earth Wasteland was a dead land, so for the Fansel Principality, Black Mountain Fort was the safest border town, surrounded by no enemies and backed by mountains. Such a place was often a mix of all sorts of people. If the Black Earth Wasteland were prosperous, Black Mountain Fort would be an important border town, as there would be trade, and the Fansel Principality could collect a large amount of tax revenue, thus paying more attention to it. However, the current situation was that the principality had selectively forgotten about this place.

Under such circumstances, the defense of Black Mountain Fort was predictable. For Green, it was an unguarded city.

Of course, he would not enter Black Mountain Fort through the main gate, as he might be recognized. Green climbed over the city walls to sneak into Black Mountain Fort.

The commercial development in Black Mountain Fort was quite distorted. Weapon shops, medicine shops, and equipment stores were everywhere, as were taverns, inns, and restaurants. However, places selling daily necessities were hard to find. The entire fortress, apart from the city defense troops, was mostly inhabited by adventurers and mercenaries, with very few ordinary civilians.

Of course, these were not what Green was concerned about. He found a relatively secluded equipment store and bought five black magic robes with hoods, a long wooden magic staff, and a set of armor. The armor was quite beautiful but not overly ornate, and the most important feature was that it had a helmet that could completely cover Green's face.

The magic robes were naturally for Zhao Hai. With these magic robes and the magic staff, Zhao Hai could pretend to be a black mage. After all, except for black mages, no other mages liked to wear such peculiar robes that almost completely covered the body. Nowadays, magic robes on the continent had been improved over several generations, making them not only comfortable to wear but also very beautiful, especially for female mages, whose robes were almost as elaborate as formal wear.

Compared to ordinary mages, black mages preferred the type of robes Green bought. These robes were thick and had large hoods that could almost cover the entire face, gradually becoming a symbol of black mages.

The main purpose of the ornate armor for Green was to cover his face. He wanted to pretend to be a mage's follower. On the continent, mages were people of high status and generally did not lack money, so even though mages were not afraid of close combat, they often brought followers. These followers could assist the mages in battle and help them with daily tasks.

Therefore, on the continent, if you saw a mage accompanied by a group of warriors dressed like iron cans, you would not be surprised. These warriors were the mages' followers.

This time, Green wanted to pretend to be a warrior following a mage, so he could stay by Zhao Hai's side without being suspected.

After buying these items, Green also purchased some items used by mercenaries, including a mercenary backpack.

A mercenary backpack was a standard piece of equipment for every mercenary and adventurer, as most of their time was spent in the wild. They would prepare different items for different missions, along with food, supplies, and any loot they obtained, all of which needed a place to be stored. Thus, the mercenary backpack came into being.

The main purpose of Green buying this item was to prevent anyone from discovering the secret of Zhao Hai's space. Their destination was not Black Mountain Fort; it was just a place they passed through. No one here would care about them, as the people here were only concerned with their own affairs, and the Fansel family had no significant influence here. Therefore, Green was not worried.

However, if they went to other places, things would not be so smooth. The Fansel family had good control over their territory, with Black Mountain Fort being an exception.

Green also wanted to buy more items, but he really had no money. Although selling the radishes would bring in money, they had not sold them yet, so he could only buy some essentials and leave Black Mountain Fort.

However, Green was not wearing the shiny, showy armor. Instead, he put on ordinary adventurer's clothes, making him inconspicuous. Black Mountain Fort saw hundreds of adventurers coming and going every day, so no one would pay attention to him.

Although Green left Black Mountain Fort, he carefully observed his surroundings before slowly heading into the mountains. To be honest, he was a bit paranoid.

Green circled around the mountains several times, and after confirming that he was not being followed, he arrived at the marked spot. Before he could do anything, the spatial portal appeared, and Green quickly entered the space. The portal disappeared, and everything returned to calm.

Zhao Hai had been paying attention to the outside situation from within the space, so he immediately noticed when Green appeared. Don't forget, he could see everything within a hundred meters.

Seeing the large backpack in Green's hand, Zhao Hai was taken aback. The backpack looked very similar to a hiking backpack from his previous life on Earth, except for the different material, less precise craftsmanship, and lack of a zipper, it was almost identical.

Zhao Hai pointed at the large backpack and asked, "Grandpa Green, why did you buy this? We don't need it at all."

Green smiled and said, "Of course, we don't need it, but having this can conceal the existence of the space. After all, spatial items are quite rare on the continent."

Zhao Hai immediately understood Green's intention and nodded. "Right, I almost forgot about that." Green smiled and handed the magic staff to Zhao Hai. "This magic staff is also a showy item. I chose one that is not the worst but the lightest, so Master won't have to exert much effort. There are magic robes in the bag; Master should change into them."

Zhao Hai nodded, took the magic staff and the backpack, and found that the staff was made of some unknown wood, very light, almost like a bamboo stick.

However, Zhao Hai did not examine the magic staff but took the backpack into the hut. The clothes he initially wore were noble attire prepared by Green and the others. The noble attire was very elaborate but also very inconvenient. The pants, though not as tight as the ones Zhao Hai had seen in medieval Europe, were still very restrictive. In the end, Zhao Hai decided not to wear the noble attire anymore, as he had many things to do every day, and such clothes would only hinder his movements.

Merlin understood this and did not object. When Green returned and saw Zhao Hai not wearing noble attire, he initially wanted to object, but seeing that Zhao Hai had so much to do, he realized that such clothes were indeed inconvenient and let it go. He was not someone who lacked flexibility.

Zhao Hai was now wearing a set of Green's warrior clothes, which Merlin had altered to fit him better. Zhao Hai was not as tall as Green, but fortunately, Green was not very muscular, so the alterations were minimal. The warrior clothes were designed for ease of movement, making them very comfortable and convenient, which Zhao Hai liked very much.